


Talk To Me

by thanku4urlove



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Deaf!Keito, Getting Together, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 18:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20821763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove
Summary: Yamada moves to an apartment in Tokyo. Thankfully he isn't alone, his high school friend Yuto coming over to help him move in and bringing his roommate Keito along.





	Talk To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Additional warning for possibly inaccurate portrayal of a deaf person? I did some JSL research for this fic so hopefully it holds up okay.

Yamada let out a light sigh, looking around him. The exhale echoed in the empty room, stepping over a few empty boxes as he looked around. He’d done it. He had his own apartment in Tokyo. It was a strange feeling, being here alone. It would feel like more of an accomplishment if it had been some sort of goal of his, but the opportunity had come out of the blue, and a week later his life had been turned upside down.

His sister’s wedding had been the catalyst, really; she asked him to make their wedding cake, and since it was to be a smaller, family event, he agreed. He was tracked down during the reception by a chef from a high brow bakery, an expensive and overly fancy place that Yamada had heard of but never entered. He was full of exclamations and kind words, the compliments a surprise, and the job offer had him laughing until he realized that the man wasn’t laughing with him. It was a genuine, baffling proposition, as baking had never been more than a hobby. His lack of experience didn’t discourage the man, and with his whole family insisting that the opportunity was too good to pass up, he’d accepted it.

His phone began to buzz, Yamada hurrying to pull it from his pocket. He wasn’t alone in the city, much to his relief, his high school friend Yuto offering to help him unpack when he broke the news that he was moving.

“Hello?”

“Yamada! Are you there yet?” Yuto asked, his voice loud and happy. Yamada nodded as he gave an affirmative answer, smiling a little.

“Good, because we’re almost there. And I’m bringing someone to help!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, my friend Keito. He’s super nice, you’re going to love him.”

“Okay, I’m looking forward to it.” Yamada vaguely remembered a mention or two of Keito before, but really knew nothing about him. True to his word, Yuto was there in a little under ten minutes, meeting Yamada with a smile when he opened the door. He stepped to the side, gesturing to the young man next to him and introducing him as Okamoto Keito. Perhaps it was the grandiose introduction, but Keito was grinning, covering his face sheepishly as he bowed to Yamada. They met eyes when he straightened up, his eyes bright in amusement and his cheeks pink, and butterflies erupted in Yamada’s stomach.

“Alright Yamada!” Yuto said, spreading his arms wide. “Your wish is our command. Tell us what to do.”

Yamada laughed, thanking them, and they started getting to work. They had to move around large furniture first, but that was easy and straightforward--unpacking the smaller boxes was where it got difficult.

“Where do you want… This thing?” Yuto asked, holding up the gold plated soccer trophy he’d won in grade school. Yamada frowned.

“Uh… Set it on my bed, I’ll find a spot. Could you put those books on my bed too?” He called out the question, trying to catch Keito’s attention, who was holding volumes of Kindaichi Case Files with confusion on his face.

It was impossible for Keito not to have heard him, the three of them crammed into Yamada’s bedroom, even with Yamada himself deep into his closet and putting his clothes away. However, Keito didn't react to his words at all, turning his back and reaching up to stack the books on the side table next to him, stopped by Yuto tapping his shoulder and pointing to the bed.

At first, Yamada figured that maybe Keito had been distracted and simply not paying attention, but it began to happen more and more, with Keito completely ignoring him--even when they were standing side by side--and by the time they’d decided to call it quits on unpacking for the day, Yamada was starting to get quite disgruntled by the whole thing. Sure, Keito was attractive, but he was also extremely quiet, and Yamada couldn’t help but feel that he was rude, too.

“Alright!” Yuto clapped his hands together happily. “We did good! We got a lot of stuff done. I think this calls for some smoothies; I’ll go buy us all some.”

Keito made to stand up from the couch, looking as though he wanted to go with him. Yamada tried not to feel insulted. Yuto though, shook his head, gesturing vaguely in Yamada’s direction.

“You two should get to know each other! Keito’s my roommate, Yamada, so I’d love for the two of you to be friends. I think you’d really get along.”

Keito sat back down, Yuto dashing out the door. They were silent for a full ten minutes, Yamada wanting Keito to speak first, wanting Keito to give a bit to this relationship that Yuto wanted before he did, feeling that his attempts had been disregarded all day. But Keito just pulled out his phone, beginning to text, and Yamada turned away, fuming from being ignored. He paced a little, deciding that it was up to him; he was going to try at least. They’d been busy the whole time they’d been there. Maybe he wasn’t purposely being ignored.

“So… How long have you and Yuto been roommates?”

The question didn’t come out in the calm tone that he’d been going for, but it seemed not to matter--when he turned back around, Keito was still on his phone, looking completely disinterested.

“Hey! What’s your problem?”

The almost-shout finally got Keito’s attention, his eyes wide as he looked in Yamada’s direction.

“Yeah!” Yamada said, his hands balling up into fists to resist throwing his arms in the air. “I’m talking to you! I’ve been talking to you all day, but it’s nice of you to finally care to look at me.”

Keito’s eyes went wide, waving his hands a bit, up in front of his face.

“I’m not--” Yamada heaved a loud sigh, trying to release the tension in his hands. “I’m not going to hit you, I just…” He trailed off when he saw Keito scrambling for something in his back pocket, completely bewildered as he pulled out a notepad and a black pen. He scribbled quickly, his face one of concern and apology as he held out the writing for Yamada to see.

_I’m so sorry! I’m deaf._

The immediate feeling of being an awful human being hit him like a ton of bricks, Yamada unable to keep his mouth from hanging open slightly.

“You’re… deaf?”

Keito could read lips, Yamada supposed, because he nodded. Yamada almost felt a bit sick with the immediate need to apologize, his face burning in humiliation, but he didn’t even know how to begin, standing in shock as Keito gave him a hesitant smile.

“I’m… I’m so sorry…” He bowed a few times over before Keito reached out and caught his shoulder, stopping him, smiling and waving as though to say it was fine. It still didn’t feel fine though, about to try and apologize again when the door burst open.

“I’m back!” Yuto exclaimed, arms full of the blended fruit drinks he’d left for, and Yamada rounded on him immediately.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” He yelled, Yuto jumping in surprise at the volume of his voice.

“What?” He looked from Yamada to Keito for some form of explanation, and Keito put down his notepad in favor of making a few gestures with his hands--sign language, Yamada had to assume--and Yuto began to laugh.

“Oh!” He said, passing out drinks. Yamada watched his friend giggle, not finding anything about this humorous in the slightest. “Did I not tell you? I thought I told you I had a deaf friend.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me it was him!” Yamada exclaimed, watching as Keito took his smoothie, putting the drink between his knees on the couch to use his hands, holding one with the palm facing down and placing the other on top, the side of his pinky touching his hand. Then he lifted the top hand up, bowing slightly as he did so. Yuto gave him a quick smile, simply waving a hand in Keito’s direction. It was sign language, and Yamada hoped they weren’t talking about him.

“I’ve been a little angry all day, because I thought he was ignoring me or something! I feel awful.”

Yuto raised his eyebrows. “And?” He prompted. Yamada flushed, putting his face in his hands.

“And I… Yelled a little.”

Yuto laughed, turning to Keito’s confused expression and signing something. Keito nodded back, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, Keito can read lips okay, but obviously he has to be looking straight at you for that to work. Really Yama-chan? You yelled at a deaf person?” Yuto clicked his tongue, and though the disapproval was being said in a light, joking manner, it wasn’t helping him feel any better.

“I’m sorry!” He exclaimed again, Yuto laughing, and he was relieved to see that Keito was laughing too.

“Do you want to tell it to him in sign language?” Yuto offered. “We could teach you.”

It felt painfully awkward, getting that offer in front of two people he assumed were already fluent in Japanese sign language, but he had to say yes, nodding a bit. Instead of teaching it himself, Yuto put his hands on Yamada’s shoulders, steering him to the couch and sitting him down next to Keito.

Keito did a gesture--touching his forehead and extending his hand--but it was too fast for Yamada to really catch. He tried to imitate the hand movements, his fingers feeling clumsy, and Keito beamed at him, reaching over and touching his hands. Yamada’s heart did a flip in his chest.

He brought two of Yamada’s fingers together, touching his index finger to his thumb and spreading the other three out. He lifted Yamada’s hand so that his connecting fingers touched his forehead, then drew back and repeated the gesture so Yamada could watch him again. After touching his fingers to his forehead he pulled his hand about a foot from his face, with all of his fingers pressed together and extended towards the ceiling. Yamada did the gesture back to him and Keito smiled, nodding and pulling out his notepad.

_Apology accepted._

He was still practicing “I’m sorry” when he was at work a few days later, his encounter with Keito still fresh in his mind. A bell chimed, signaling the opening of the door, and Yamada dropped his hands in embarrassment, reflexively wiping his hands on his apron as he looked up to greet the customer.

But it was Keito that walked through the door, both of them stilling in surprise they saw each other. Yamada was smiling before he even realized it, bowing quickly. Keito pulled out his notepad.

_When did you start working here?_

Yamada opened his mouth to respond, feeling stupid for a moment as he closed it again. He scrambled quickly for a napkin, pulling a pen from his apron.

_The beginning of this week_

He was immediately aware of how terrible his handwriting was, and it took Keito a few extra seconds to read what he’d said.

_So you’re good at baking then?_

Keito’s expression suggested a light, more teasing tone to the question, smiling when Yamada raised his eyebrows at him. He pulled his napkin back over to himself, picking up his pen.

_Why don’t you buy something and find out?_

Keito laughed as he picked up the napkin, reading the words. The laugh took Yamada by surprise, considering how quiet Keito had been thus far. It was low, the natural cadence uneven, but it was a purely happy sound and Yamada wanted instantly to hear it again, feeling entirely too much like a flustered schoolgirl as he turned away under the guise of fixing the cookie display.

Keito still had Yamada’s napkin in his hand as he browsed the selection, looking through the cupcakes before pulling his notepad out again and writing quickly.

_I come here often to get something for my dad. He likes coffee flavored things. What do you recommend?_

Yamada frowned slightly in thought. They didn’t have too large of a coffee-flavored selection on their menu, and on top of that he hadn’t made many yet; it was only his third day on the job. Finally he pointed to a plate of coffee eclairs he’d made that morning. He hadn’t taste-tested them, so if they weren’t good, at least they would be fresh.

Keito held up two fingers, Yamada taking two of the eclairs and putting them in a to-go box. He wanted to say something in the surrounding silence as he rang them up and Keito paid, to say something in sign language, but all he knew was “I’m sorry” and that wasn’t helpful, despite how good he was becoming at signing it. He wanted to learn more. He wanted to be able to talk to Keito.

He looked up a few things online when he got home, wanting to at least be able to carry a basic conversation Keito the next time they met. He’d been able to pick up a little bit of conversational Korean a year or so ago, and that had been easy enough.

Somehow, the sign language was infinitely more complicated than he thought it would be, stumped and staring at a diagram, his fingers contorted in a way he knew couldn’t be right.

Maybe just his name, he told himself. He could learn his name, and how to say hello. Get to that point first, and then try to keep on from there.

His opportunity to flex his newfound skills came sooner than he’d really wanted, Yuto sending him a text in the middle of his Thursday shift asking if he had the weekend off. He did, and that Saturday found him outside the door to Yuto and Keito’s apartment, knocking.

“Hey!” Yuto swung the door open, gesturing him inside. He was dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, both articles of clothing looking worn and a little too small for him. Yamada knew hanging out at Yuto’s was going to be a casual occasion, wondering if his jeans and monochrome jacket weren’t casual enough.

Keito entered the living room from the kitchen, and Yamada was glad his hands were empty, because if he’d been holding anything, he would have dropped it. Keito was dressed simply as well, in a tanktop and cinch waist sweatpants, and Yamada’s mouth had gone completely dry.

“What’s your opinion on foreign films?” Yuto asked, but Yamada was only half listening--Keito was smiling at him, greeting him with a bow.

“Uh, great.” He answered absentmindedly, and Yuto clapped him hard on the back, bringing him from the bit of a daze, a daze he hadn’t realized he’d fallen under until he was yanked out of it.

“Good, because we’re watching one! Apparently it’s one of Keito’s favorites, and he’s been wanting me to watch it. But it sounded like something you would like, so I wanted to invite you too!”

Yamada just nodded a bit, removing his shoes and stepping in. He sat on the opposite side of the couch that Keito was sitting on, Yuto still grinning as he disappeared into the kitchen. Now was a good time as any to introduce himself to Keito, who was simply looking at him, so he raised his hands.

“Hello.” He brought his hands parallel, his index fingers raised, then curled his fingers towards each other, like two people bowing. Keito’s eyes went wide, doubtlessly surprised. He didn’t look confused though, Yamada hoping that meant he was doing something right as he continued.

“My name is Yamada.” He touched his nose, brought his thumb and index finger together and placed the hole they made on his chest where a nametag would go, then spelled out his name with the signs that represented the three hiragana. All fingers down except his pinky and thumb, then pointing his index, middle, and ring finger towards the ground and holding his other fingers in, then offering a thumbs up.

Keito looked overjoyed, beaming at him. Yamada would have felt more enamored if he weren’t so nervous about whether or not he’d done it all right. Keito signed something at him, but Yamada had no idea what it was, glancing around for something to write with. Popping popcorn began to sound in the background.

Keito must have understood what he needed because he pulled out his notepad, ripping a piece of paper out and handing it over with his pen. Yamada wrote back a quick explanation.

_That’s all I learned._

The tiny amount of knowledge didn’t lessen Keito’s smile.

_It was good!_ He wrote back. _Though… I thought your name is Yamada._

Yamada frowned immediately, wondering what on earth it was he actually said. Keito must have understood his expression, writing quickly.

_You said your name was Yamata, not Yamada. That's all._

Yamada signed the last syllable of his name again, and Keito nodded a little.

_Moving your hand to the right a little while signing changes it from ‘ta’ to ‘da’._ He explained, demonstrating the gesture. Yamada imitated him, then signed his whole name again. Keito beamed at him, nodding and signing back. Yamada followed along with the “Hello, my name is”, but hadn’t learned the hand sign for every hiragana character, and could only assume that what followed was Keito’s name. But it seemed too long to be his name, and after a bit of blank staring--because really, that was all Yamada could do--Keito laughed. Yamada’s heart leapt.

_I asked what kind of movies you like._ Keito explained, holding his notebook in his lap.

He watched as Keito signed the gesture again, trying to imitate it. Keito shook his head, obviously amused, reaching over to position his fingers. Keito’s hands were warm, and Yamada had to bite his lips to keep himself from smiling. Yuto reentered the room somewhere in the middle of it all, munching on some popcorn from the bowl in his hands as he watched them, a grin on his face.

The teaching, even though it was one simple question, was difficult--though part of it was Yamada being distracted by Keito, and by Keito touching his hands--and quite often Keito had to turn to writing out things on his notepad in an effort to explain. He did feel accomplished when he’d learned the question, sure, but then Yuto sat down on Keito’s other side, using sign language to talk as easy as anything, and a small jolt of envy struck Yamada. He wanted to be able to talk to Keito like that.

So he sat Yuto down on his next day off, asking if it wouldn’t be too much for his friend to start teaching him. Yuto was delighted in his interest, albeit confused.

“Oh, cool! So you like him, then?”

Yamada nodded and turned away, coughing a bit into his hands. Yuto meant platonically, and of course he did, Yamada willing his face to stay neutral as he turned back to his friend.

“I want to be able to talk to him like you can.”

“Well, you’ll need years of experience for that.” Yuto said in a joking, self-important tone, laughing a bit. “But I can definitely help. Tell you what, I’ll ask Keito’s dad to help you--he’s the expert. He’s the one that taught me, I’m sure he could teach you too.”

“No!” Yamada said quickly as Yuto pulled his phone out. The outburst was surprising, turning to look at him with a perplexed expression. “No, I…” He didn’t know how to say the next few words; all he knew was that getting lessons from Keito’s father would be awkward and slightly humiliating.

“...what?” Yuto finally asked.

“It’s just… It’s embarrassing.”

“We all start somewhere.” Yuto told him with a shrug, going back to texting. “It’s not like he’s expecting you to know anything from the start--Keito carries around a notepad for a reason.”

“I like him.” Yamada blurted, Yuto’s thumb hovering over the send button. “I like Keito, so getting lessons from his dad would be a bit…” He trailed off. His face was burning, and a grin was growing slowly on Yuto’s face as he put his phone down and slid it back into his pocket.

“Stop it. Shut up!” Yamada exclaimed. “I hate you.” The grumble came with an exaggerated frown, but his rough words didn’t dampen Yuto’s delight in the slightest.

“This. Is so. Cute.”

“No! It’s not. It’s…” Yamada floundered for antonyms for the adjective, but thinking of ‘cute’ just had Keito’s laugh popping into his head, and he buried his face in his hands. “Just help me, would you?”

“Of course! Oh, this is great.”

“Don’t you dare teach me anything weird. I’m going to be checking every single thing you say against the internet. You are not going to trick me into introducing myself as ‘monkey wrench’ in more than one language.”

Yuto collapsed into giggles at the memory, but nodded a bit, promising to take this seriously. But, Yamada mused, if Yuto managed to keep his promise at least halfway, he would consider himself lucky.

What Yamada hadn't expected when he got an unofficial JSL teacher was that he would also be getting a wingman. A terrible wingman. Yuto would invite Yamada out with himself and Keito, which was lovely, but each and every time he would find some excuse to leave them alone together for an extended period of time. Spending the time with Keito wasn’t bad at all, Yamada didn’t mind, but the way Yuto went about leaving them together made Yamada wish the earth would swallow him whole.

What was even worse though, was that Keito seemed uncomfortable. Sometimes they would find things to talk about, and while Yamada cherished those moments, sometimes they simply sat there, the silence near unbearable as Yamada floundered for anything to say. They were in the middle of one of Yuto’s fifteen minute bathroom breaks after a movie they all went to, standing quietly, and Yamada apologized. Keito sent him a puzzling glance.

_For being left with me like this._ Yamada answered. He’d picked up a little notebook and marker of his own. Keito shook his head, giving a little grin, reaching over to write on the page Yamada already had open.

_It’s fine! I like spending time with you._

Yamada felt a blush flooding his face as he read the response, Keito giving him an amused smile as he met Yamada’s eyes. He was almost positive everyone around them could hear how loudly his heart was pounding, jumping nearly out of his skin when there was a hand on his shoulder.

“Ready to go?” It was Yuto, taken aback by Yamada’s reaction. “Yamada, you okay?” He looked back and forth between the two of them, a smirk growing on his face. “Did I miss something?”

Yamada snapped his notebook closed, shaking his head, Yuto pestering him via text message the rest of the night.

They were out together again a week later, and despite Yamada’s insistence that he could pay for their dinner, Yuto declared that he had to leave the restaurant and go all the way back home because he’d left his wallet on the kitchen counter. Keito had a grin on his face, a resigned type of grin, and Yamada chuckled.

_Do you want to go ahead and go?_ He wrote, Keito laughing a little as he read the note upside down across the table. _We can catch up with him later._

Keito nodded, and after paying for their meal, Yamada lead the way out into the night.

“Thank you.” Keito signed to him, Yamada overjoyed that he understood the simple expression, knowing he was beaming like an idiot as he signed back.

“You’re welcome. Where do you want to go?”

Keito pulled out his notepad.

_Shouldn’t we tell Yuto that we left?_

Yamada shrugged.

_He’ll figure it out._

Keito laughed, and they walked together into the first shop they came across. It was a little stand for accessories, Keito immediately grabbing an ugly hat off a top shelf and extending it in Yamada’s direction.

“Really?” He asked with a laugh, but Keito was insistent, so he put it on. He made sure to grab painfully oversized sunglasses for Keito beforehand though, in the middle of laughing at each other when a shout interrupted them.

“There you two are!”

It was Yuto, and while at first he seemed borderline worried about being left behind, as soon as they turned to him he nearly fell to his knees in laughter.

“A picture! A picture!” He exclaimed quickly, pulling out his phone. Yamada was thoroughly embarrassed but it was impossible not to smile, Keito putting an arm around Yamada's shoulders and pulling him closer.

Later, as they were walking home, Yamada leaned close, asking under his breath if Yuto could send him the photo. Yuto laughed.

“What?” Yamada asked him. That wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting.

“Keito already asked me the same thing.”

After a few weekends of meeting up and hanging out together, it became a given that they would be doing so, whether specific plans were made or not. Yamada knocked on Yuto and Keito’s front door mid morning on Saturday, the latter opening it, gesturing with a grin to let him inside.

It took Yamada a second to realize that they were the only two in the room.

“Where’s Yuto?” He signed, having to think in the middle of the question to remember the hand sign for the first syllable of his friend’s name. Keito understood thankfully, shrugging in response.

“I don’t know.”

He offered Yamada a glass of water, which he accepted, retreating into the kitchen. Yamada pulled his phone from his pocket, Yuto answering on the second ring.

“Where are you?” Yamada asked.

“Good morning to you too.” Yuto responded. He sounded curiously smug. “What do you mean?”

“You're not at your apartment.”

“But you're at my apartment?”

“Well…”

“We didn't have any weekend plans, you know.”

“But--”

“Just can't stay away from my cute roommate, can you.”

“Oh, shut up.” Yamada retorted, but he could feel his face heating up a small bit. “We always do stuff on the weekends.”

“I know.”

“Then where are you?”

“Shouldn't you be thanking me? Quality alone time. I taught you how to sign ‘I like you’ and ‘will you go out with me’ last lesson for a reason, you know.”

“But… But Yuto--!”

“It's a golden opportunity, Yamada! You should go for it!” Yuto insisted, hanging up before he could protest. Yamada let out a long breath, realizing that really, Yuto was right.

The tap on his shoulder made him jump, turning to see Keito, one glass of water in each hand and a concerned expression on his face.

“What's wrong?” he asked. Yamada touched his nose with his free hand, then tapped one shoulder, crossing his chest and tapping his other shoulder, signing that he was okay. He accepted the water gratefully and took a long drink, his mouth suddenly very dry. Keito pulled out his notepad.

_Is there anything you want to do?_

His mind had gone blank, Yuto’s suggestion the only thing he could think of. He licked his lips and swallowed, nerves falling into his stomach like a bag of rocks. But now he’d been silent and anxious for too long, and Keito was concerned again.  
_There's something I wanted to ask you._ He wrote, gesturing to the couch. _Can we sit down?_

Keito nodded, his face an obvious mix of curious and confused as he sat across from Yamada on the couch. He looked at Yamada expectantly, and Yamada set down his drink. swallowing again, he tried to shove aside his nervousness, holding up his hands in preparation to sign. He decided to simply go for it.

“I really like you.” He signed hesitantly, trying to gauge Keito's reaction. He looked surprised, but whether good or bad, he couldn't tell. “Will you go out with me?”

There was a long moment where Keito simply looked at him, his face pink, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. Then, finally, he smiled.

“I like you too.” He answered, butterflies erupting in Yamada's chest. “I would love to go on a date with you.”

Unfortunately, Yamada didn't understand the second phrase, Keito having to write the words down. When Yamada read them he couldn't help but smile, and he knew he was blushing, but Keito was smiling too. He took the pen, writing quickly.

_How do you sign ‘can I kiss you’?_

Instead of answering, Keito leaned close, searching his eyes. Swallowing, his heart pounding, Yamada nodded, Keito's lips meeting his as he closed his eyes. The kiss was gentle, soft, and warm, and as Keito leaned back and met his eyes Yamada couldn't help but laugh. Keito gave him a questioning glance, Yamada shaking his head a bit.

“I’m happy.” He signed to Keito, whose expression softened a little, taking his hand and giving his fingers a squeeze.


End file.
